This invention is in the field of viewers for infrared radiation emitted by thermal bodies. there are various known types of infrared detectors which provide visible images, such as photovoltaic and photoresistive diodes and transistors, infrared vidicons, charged coupled devices, etc. These detectors have different complexities and uses, but all have difficulty in providing a recognizable image of a thermal object in defilade or clutter. One manner by which this difficulty is countered is the use of polarizers for object radiation incident on the detectors. It is a fact that thermal objects of different shapes emit (or reflect) thermal energy at different amounts for different polarizations. By choosing a particular polarization of incoming thermal energy, it is possible to increase the contrast between differently shaped bodies in a viewer. Unfortunately, using only a particular polarization decreases the total amount of infrared energy reaching the detector, for a particular infrared scene. Obviously, this degrades image quality. Moreover, background and clutter are not suppressed, whereas the instant invention does suppress such background or clutter while at the same time enhancing the images of curved objects such as tank gun barrels or turrets. U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,008 of Jun. 1, 1982 shows a system which uses alternate output pulses, having orthogonal polarizations, from a laser to illuminate a scene. Man-made specular objects reflect both polarizations, whereas natural objects act as diffuse reflectors; in any event, the reflected illumination is fed to two detectors, each responding to a different polarization. The differential sum of the detector outputs is high for specular objects and low for natural (non-specular) objects. This system does not give an overall image of the scene, but does indicate the presence of specular objects as the beam is manually swept over the scene.